2005-04-04 SPANISH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW The wait is finally over. Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri ready for the 2005 challenge After an intense pre-season which has seen the riders of the Team Movistar Honda busy in places like Malaysia, Australia, Qatar and Spain, the 2005 Championship finally is about to begin! For the first time the Championship kicks off in Europe, in a location that we can readily define the Heart of Motorcycle passion, Spain. Jerez de la Frontera is one of the most awaited appointments of the season thanks to the over 130,000 passionate spectators who every year fill the stands and hills of this beautiful Andalusian track. “There are no words to describe the atmosphere in Jerez. The spectators’ warmth is unique. This has always been the first European GP, this year it is the first GP of the Championship so I think the affluence of people will be overwhelming” comments Sete Gibernau. The 2005 challenge begins on the Spanish circuit of Jerez de la Frontera, a circuit much loved by the Spanish rider of the Team Movist! ar Honda MotoGP. Here he triumphed last season, winning the race during a torrential rain storm. The victory of Sete during the 2004 Spanish GP was the first of four victories and ten podiums (ten out of sixteen races!) which allowed Sete to become Vice World Champion for the second year in a row. SETE GIBERNAU will take on the 2005 championship with a renewed determination and all his strength. Thanks to the support of HRC, Michelin and the Team, Sete worked all winter developing the bike, putting together the best package for his riding style. Test after test the Spanish rider has found the correct direction in development regarding both single lap times and racing distances. His incredible results during winter testing are a confirmation of his work, he got great results both on race simulation and fast lap, his first place at the Barcelona Irta test, is a consequence of the work done. “This year the Spanish GP will be an ex! traordinary event. Jerez has always been an incredible place, especially because of the spectators. This year it will be even more incredible as it is the first race of a challenging and amazing Championship season. My best memory of this track is definitely the victory during the 2004 GP. It was the first of a challenging season where I fought for the title until the penultimate race. Aside from my liking to this track, I am coming to Jerez concentrated on myself and on the team. We are strong after all the work we have done this winter. To strengthen the relationship with the Team, HRC and Michelin was one of my pre-season objectives, and I must admit, I reached my goal. During the winter testing we all worked together, focusing in one direction and I am very pleased with the results we have made. There is more work to be done but the single lap times and race pace has been very satisfying and has confirmed that we have a very strong base to work with. Compared to l! ast year, I feel much stronger, both physically and mentally. I have grown a lot, and the team has grown with me. I feel ready and, after a lot of hard work during winter testing, I can’t wait to start racing.” The Team Movistar Honda lines up for the 2005 challenge the experienced Sete Guibernau and the young hope Marco Melandri. With a 250cc World Championship title and 2 years experience in MotoGP, the 22- year-old MARCO MELANDRI arrives to the Honda family with the Gresini Team to be, together with Sete Gibernau, the bearer of the colours of the Team Movistar in the MotoGP class. Marco will take on the first race feeling strong and reassured after his brilliant winter apprenticeship. The “step by step” approach during the winter tests gave fantastic results and Marco learned and worked serenely. After the November 2004 debut with the RC211V, Marco’s confidence with the bike soared test after test. With more trust in! both himself and the bike his lap times started to better. An incredible race simulation in Qatar, a great fourth place in the Barcelona qualifying tests, and a good result this last weekend in Jerez have represented for him a great step forward. “The work brought forward in Jerez has been very important as I have been able to better my race pace. Every day I did about 90 laps and on the third day I dedicated myself to a race simulation. During this testing occasion in Jerez, I have been able to try the bike in wet conditions. It is the first time in fact that I have tried the RC211V in wet conditions and I have had very positive feedback. On Sunday I even had the chance to make my single lap time better as Michelin allowed me to use qualifying tyres. Therefore I was able to practise and I must admit that I am very pleased with my timed lap, the second best time overall on Sunday 27th March. Now I feel as though I am a more complete rider and I am rea! dy for the 2005 challenge,” comments Marco Melandri. Marco begins his first season on the RC211V with a new spirit: “I have finally found once again the desire to ride. I am having fun on the bike and I have found a team that believes in me and supports the work I do. In the Gresini team I have found the ideal work environment and with the RC211V an extraordinary bike which adapts well to my riding style. I really like the bike, and each time I ride it I try to get to know it better, to listen to it. I can’t wait to get onto the track in Jerez. It is a circuit I really like because it is technical and it is complete. The circuit requires a fluid ride. The time is made on the quick corners, especially the last two right ones. The best places to overtake are at the end of the two straights. Jerez is nice not only for the track but also for its spectators. The sensation that you feel when you enter the stadium is incredible. From a spectator point of view! , I think it is the most fascinating GP of the entire Championship”. JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA THE TRACK circuit: Jerez de la Frontera Opened: 1986 Modified : 2002 Length: 4,423 m Width: 11 m Pole position: left Right turns: 5 Left Turns: 8 Longest straight: 600 m RECORD: best lap: 2003 Rossi (Honda) 1’41″900 Track Record: 2003 Rossi (Honda) 1’42″788 pole position: 2004 Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40″ 818 2004 GP: 1° Gibernau (Honda) 2° Biaggi (Honda) 3° Barros (Honda) More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Racing: Team SUZUKI MotoGP looking forward to season opener Team SUZUKI MotoGP begins its quest for Grand Prix glory at the first round of the MotoGP World Championship in Jerez, Spain, on April 10th. Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins are both confident of improved results following successful tests this year, where they have been able to get closer to the top of the timesheets. Less than two-weeks ago the Suzuki racers posted competitive lap times at the Jerez circuit, and they are hoping to turn this potential into solid results. The latest version of the GSV-R Grand Prix prototype has undergone many changes since the end of the 2004 campaign. It has benefited from a rise in power to increase acceleration and the Suzuki Factory has also focussed on improved controllability. These improvements have helped the superb handling GSV-R to become a better all-round package for Roberts Jr and Hopkins to compete with. The Jerez race is the first in a 17 round season that will see the Suzuki team compete in Europe, return to the USA for the first time in 10 years and visit new circuits in China and Turkey. Jerez will also mark the first race for new team manager Paul Denning, who joined Team SUZUKI MotoGP in January following a successful season in British Superbikes where his Rizla Suzuki outfit won both the manufacturer and rider Championships. The Spanish Grand Prix from Jerez begins at 14.00CET and will be televised globally to an audience in excess of 320 million fans. Kenny Roberts Jr: “Suzuki, Bridgestone and the team have made some big steps this winter and the package is at a much better position than before. There are certain issues that we need to still work on, and we don’t know yet where we are at over race distance, but I’m looking forward to racing the bike and finding out.” John Hopkins: “I’m really excited about this weekend. We’ve done so much testing I can’t wait to get racing again. I’m feeling confident for the coming season and I need to start winning again – it’s been so long since I last won a race I need to start doing it again and remind myself how good it feels.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “All the team are enthusiastically anticipating the first GP of 2005. Pre-season testing has gone well and clearly Team SUZUKI MotoGP is going in the right direction. There is no doubt that we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but everybody will be working to their full potential to secure the best possible finishes for Suzuki at Jerez.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: Camel Honda starts off MotoGP 2005 at a favourite track The MotoGP World Championship 2005 gets under way this coming Sunday, April 10th, with the first race taking place at the Spanish Jerez track, a circuit which has seen Camel Honda colours on the podium both in 2003 and 2004. The Andalusian track also holds good memories for both of the team’s riders, Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss. Alex Barros took his first podium of 2004 at the circuit, whilst Troy Bayliss made his first ever podium appearance in MotoGP there in 2003. With tests coming to a close ten days ago, the positive work done by the team throughout the winter became apparent, and the riders cannot wait for the new season to begins. Sito Pons Camel Honda “This is an important moment for us, because we are beginning a new season, and we have high expectations. We are beginning a new project, with two new riders; one of whom, Barros, already rode with us in the past and is a returning friend, whilst the other, Bayliss, is the kind of guy we have already begun to appreciate. They are both experienced, quick and are full of determination. Another reason to be happy is that the 2005 season kicks off in Spain, and at Jerez, a charismatic place which will undoubtedly play host to another fantastic event once more. We did some great work over winter and I am sure that our two riders will be taking the team to the front of the pack from the very start.” Alex Barros #4: “We have worked hard during winter, and in Jerez even more so. The last test day I did over a hundred laps, testing everything required both on the bike and the tyres. At the beginning the RCV was a little nervous and I wasn’t able to ride it cleanly, but by the end we have found a good set-up. I think we are quite ready for the race, which will certainly be hard-fought. From what I have seen during the winter tests, there was hardly anything to choose between so many riders on several occasions, so I think this season will be very, very tough and extremely competitive. I feel good, comfortable with my bike, and more in shape than I have been for so long. I’m ready to begin.” Troy Bayliss #12: “Finally the tests came to an end, and the championship is now beginning. During winter not everything was rosy for me, but despite a few difficulties, we have made a lot of progress. In Jerez I wasn’t as quick as in the December tests, and frankly, I still don’t know why, but the effort both myself and the team put in has been enormous. This Sunday we will see if we are able to capitalise on the hard work we have done up to now. I simply can’t wait for the race to come around.”